Shocker! The Dodgers Stunned the Baseball World

Then what happened?

The Dodgers went out and traded for Matt Kemp. Yes, THAT Matt Kemp. Screams could be heard across Southern California, some excited, some in disbelief (yes, we were part of the latter noise).

But then we got to thinking about it. Cleaning the garage. Taking a shower. Doing the dishes. It was all we could think about the rest of the day.

As it sunk in deeper and deeper, we realized this was EXACTLY what the Dodgers needed. No, not Matt Kemp, but rather the tax relief. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Dodgers are now $17,680,714 below the 2018 tax threshold of $197 million, which would reset their tax penalty to 20 percent should they choose to go over the $206 million threshold next offseason (we’ll get to that in a bit).

This trade had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Matt Kemp. It had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Adrian Gonzalez or Charlie Culberson or Brandon McCarthy or Scott Kazmir. (OK, so maybe it had a little something to do with McCarthy and Kazmir).

This trade was about one thing and one thing only: Money.

The Dodgers have no glaring holes to fill for 2018. They go into next season projected to win 94 games, trailing only Houston for most wins in the league. Their odds to win the World Series are second only to the Evil Empire’s.

Sure, had this happened a few days earlier, the Dodgers could have seriously jumped into the Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes and still stayed under the luxury tax. But that ship has sailed. And no one really wants to be paying Stanton a gazillion dollars when he’s 37.